BEIJING - My father is a former airline employee, so it's odd that I've developed a healthy skepticism about flying. Given the choice, I feel much safer on China's vast railway system; not to mention that sitting and having a beer and some dinner in the dining car is better than the slop hurled from airline waitresses.

But anyone will tell you that traveling by train is much more dangerous, and today we were sadly reminded of that truth. The New York Times picks it up from here:

A predawn collision between two passenger trains in Eastern China on Monday has killed at least 70 people and injured around 250, according to Xinhua, the state news agency, making it one of the deadliest rail accidents in recent years.

The two trains, one heading from Beijing to Qingdao and the other traveling between Yantai and Xuzhou, collided at 4:40 a.m. in the town of Zibo, Shandong Province.

Witnesses said one train derailed at a bend and then struck the other, throwing at least ten cars into a ditch. Wire reports quoted a rail official saying that a new timetable introduced on Monday might have contributed to the crash.

This is a tragedy on a very large scale. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims.